Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli gets presidential nod to prorogue parliamentary session amid demands for his resignation

Kathmandu: Nepal president Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Thursday approved the Cabinet’s proposal to prorogue the ongoing parliamentary session and sent a letter to the Parliament Secretariat acknowledging the same. Earlier in the day, a Cabinet meeting was held at Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s official residence in Baluwatar, during which the government decided to discontinue without dissolving the ongoing budget session of the Parliament. The decision was taken amid reports of an inter-party dispute between Oli and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda. The Prachanda-led faction in the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has demanded the resignation of Oli from the post of the prime minister and party-co chair. Earlier in the day, Oli visited Sheetal Niwas to meet President Bhandari. On Wednesday, the Standing Committee meeting of the NCP was called, during which 17 out of 18 Standing Committee members demanded Oli’s resignation. The senior leaders, including co-chair Prachanda, Madhav Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal and Bamdev Gautam asked the Prime Minister to step down from the post citing his ‘failure’ over various issues.